Lollipop Chainsaw

Posted: 06/19/12

Designed by the madcap mind of Suda 51 and his Grasshopper Manufacture studio, whose previous credits include cult hits No More Heroes and Killer7, Lollipop Chainsaw is poised to be the developer's most successful title yet, if only for the premise. Featuring a comely, chainsaw-wielding cheerleader against an army of uncouth undead, the game makes no secret at which demographic it's targeting. Yet is there some substance to go with the style, or does this Lollipop quickly lose its flavor?

Eighteen-year-old Juliet Starling is having like the worst birthday ever, with her hometown overrun by zombies and her love interest becoming the main entrée in a zombie buffet. While the blonde, supernatural stabbing cheerleader is reminiscent of a certain slayer from Sunnydale, Juliet is no Buffy, lacking the witty repartee and confidence of the Chosen One. Instead she's insecure, superficial, and a bit ditzy.

She'll soon find out from her sensei--yes, she has a sensei--that things have gone wrong on a "cosmic scale" when one of her angst-ridden schoolmates somehow opens a gate between Earth and the Rotten World. The teen scene has been zombified, overseen by a group of heavies called the dark purveyors.

It's up to Juliet and her beloved Nick--now a reanimated head that dangles from Juliet's waist like a keychain--to take back her city and save the world. Lollipop Chainsaw's simple story is told primarily through cut-scenes that play as she encounters various enemies or characters during her travels. The game wears its absurdity like a giant "A" on a varsity sweater, but that's generally a good thing, since you won't know quite what to expect.

Lollipop Chainsaw's design is rather simplistic, a throwback to classic arcade beat-'em-ups. You'll use Juliet's pink, heart-emblazoned chainsaw (which doubles as a phone, of course) and yellow pom-poms in one- or two-button combos to stun and slice your opponents until you're allowed to advance to the next room or area. Each of the game's seven stages takes place within a themed environment, from a parking lot and high school to a baseball stadium and farm. You'll progress through each setting by taking the only path available, so there's not much exploration or interaction within the world apart from the killing.

As you battle enemies in creative ways, you'll receive gold and platinum medals that can be used as currency at shop terminals located within specific spots throughout each stage. You can use the gold "zombie" medals to upgrade Juliet's health, strength, and recovery, for example, or purchase extra lollipops to replenish her life. There are also new combo moves to acquire, costumes, music tracks, concept art, and more.

Since each stage will take you roughly 30 to 40 minutes to complete on your first time through, the game's story can be completed in four hours. After that, you can revisit stages on a new difficulty level, offering different zombies to battle, and attempt to improve your overall ranking for the online leaderboards. Completing each stage will earn you a letter ranking in several different areas, including the number of zombie or platinum medals earned, your overall completion time, the number of continues used, and your score. Unfortunately, there is no co-op support or other play modes to wring more life out of the game, which is surprising.

Lollipop Chainsaw is a pure beat-'em-up, so expect a whole lot of nuance to the gameplay. There aren't intricate moves to perform or complicated mechanics at work here, with the action making use of liberal amounts of the X and Y buttons. Yet the combat is largely satisfying due to the outrageousness of what you're doing. Juliet doesn't merely roll away to avoid damage, she leapfrogs over a zombie's head, flings out her pom-poms to stun, and follows it up with a chainsaw decapitation. You'll want to spend your coins on new moves as early as you can, which will make the combat feel less repetitive as you try to make the kills look as cool as possible.

The biggest problem with the gameplay is that while the combat is generally responsive, it's not as fast or as fluid as it could be. Juliet's movements are a tad sluggish, as if she's moving against a strong current or brisk wind. Even walking down a hallway feels like she's being pushed back, which is odd. Another issue with the gameplay is that since the chainsaw is the heroine's titular weapon, you won't be able to pick up and use a variety of other weapons, which could have provided some welcome variety.

While the pure fighting is the heart of the game, the developers added a strange amount of mini-games to keep the action from feeling too repetitive. Unfortunately, these activities often consist of silly quick-time events that have you jumping on zombies' heads, cutting through doors, dodging incoming vehicles, and more. They’re forgiving as far as quick-time events go, but they still end up taking you out of the action.

As much as some of the decisions regarding gameplay and design are frustrating, the game's undeniable sense of style makes you want to keep playing just to see what ridiculous thing happens next. And perhaps it doesn't get any more ridiculous than the boss fights, which are some of the most unforgettable encounters you'll likely experience in 2012. From the hilariously vulgar, over-the-top taunts to the absurd attacks, these confrontations are easily one of the game's highlights.

Lollipop Chainsaw's eclectic presentation attempts a comic book feel with its use of cel-shaded characters and environments mixed with hand-drawn menu and loading screens. The soundtrack blends various genres and time periods together to great effect. The '50s song "Lollipop" is featured during your shopping scenes, for example, and Tony Basil's '80s hit "Mickey" plays when you activate Juliet's sparkle power-up.

While the graphics are hardly cutting edge--animations aren't as fluid as they could be--the characters are sharp looking. The game clearly wants you to ogle its heroine's pom-poms, and the cut-scenes seem to seize any opportunity to get a momentary upskirt shot. The dialogue has more profanity than an HBO original series, and at times it's downright atrocious. The zombies in particular utter the wildest things. Yet there are also some truly funny moments as well, particularly Nick's comments.

The game's shorter than the protagonist's skirt and is filled with more cheese than a Hickory Farms gift basket. Despite its relatively shallow gameplay, Lollipop Chainsaw is worth checking out for its sheer audacity and outrageousness. At the same time, it's hard to recommend paying full price when taking into account the limited replay value. Chainsaw ultimately runs out of gas before you're ready to let go.

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